Wonderland
by chat-noir-91
Summary: When Connor, Abby and Becker fall down a rabbit hole while looking for an anomaly, they find themselves in a crazy world where people seem to think Connor's the Mad Hatter... Follows the events of Syfy's Alice with some twists! Hatter/Alice, Connor/ Abby
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, my first story with Primeval and Syfy's Alice, will follow the mini-series fairly closely, but with a lot of my own changes :) Let me know what you think! xx**

* * *

><p>"You found it yet?" The small blonde called up to the young man on the top of the hill who was waving a small electronically device around in his hands.<p>

"I think it's this way!" Connor called down the hill to his comrades below as he disappeared behind the hilltop.

"Stay where I can see you!" Becker yelled back, feeling more like a parent than a soldier as he rushed up the hill to chase the eager man-child.

For once, an anomaly hadn't opened up in the crowded down town streets of London or the Forest of Dean. Instead it had appeared on a large old estate, several hours out of the city. Cutter had been determined to arrive before any man-eating creatures began to make delicacies of the general public. There had been much persuading, by Jenny, with the owners of the estate, who seemed suspicious of a group of people traipsing around their property looking for an escaped lion from the zoo, when there wasn't a zoo for many miles around. But it only took Jenny a few minutes with her eloquently sharp words to convince them of the threat their security this creature posed if it was left to roam their woods.

Teams had been put into place so that they could cover a wider area over the vast estate. Becker, Connor and Abby were taking the western side of the estate whilst Cutter, Jenny and Sarah had opted for the eastern side. Cutter had chosen the teams, wanting Sarah to help with studying some of the track's he'd noticed. He'd been obsessed lately with trying to connect the ancient creatures with those of mythological beings, trying to fit them all within the anomaly matrix he was creating in his office, and Dr. Sarah Page, the ARC's resident expert on myths and legends was his go to girl at that time. He'd let Connor and Abby run off to search for the anomaly, knowing that they couldn't get into too much trouble under the watchful eye of Captain Becker. Another reason he'd wanted to split up, not wanting the team's new military man telling him how to do his job!

Connor ran towards the direction of the blinking dot on his handheld anomaly detector with glee, he loved it when he was right. Ignoring the cries of protest from Abby and Becker behind him, he pressed forward though the trees until he stopped abruptly; he was right on top of it!

"Congratulations..." Becker slurred sarcastically as he arrived behind Connor, slightly without breathe from running after the crazed palaeontology student through the woods. "You found a tree, in a forest..."

"It should be here! Look!" Connor defended his contraption by shoving it in Becker's face, showing him the blinking red light. Becker immediately slapped it away in annoyance.

"Maybe there's some interference or somethin'?" Abby shrugged as she caught up to them, looking around.

"I don't get it!" Connor sighed, hitting the side of the device in frustration, walking around, waving it up and down to try and see if that helped the signal.

"Look let's just double back and see if the others have found anything," Becker decided, seeing no point in traipsing around in the woods after Connor and his obviously broken device.

Connor sent Becker an annoyed look, walking back under the tree where the detector claimed there was an anomaly. Why was _soldier boy_ always telling him what to do?

"Look it should be – " the end of Connor's sentence was lost as the ground disappeared under his feet.

"CONNOR!" Abby screamed as she watched him fall, but Becker was quick on the mark, reaching out to grab Connor's hand as they both crashed to the ground.

Becker held tightly to the fingerless gloved hand, being the only thing stopping Connor from falling down in to the deep abyss below him.

Abby lay down on the ground next to Becker, sticking her hand down the hole as well for Connor to hold onto.

In the darkness of the abyss, Abby could only just make out Connor's terrified expression. "Somethin' s'pullin' me in!" He cried out as he took hold of Abby's hand.

The pull was certainly apparent as Becker and Abby could feel themselves being pulled into the whole after Connor.

"Hold on!" Abby called down to Connor.

"It's pullin' you in too!" Conner realised in panic, "let go!"

"No," Abby growled in determination, as her whole body was pulled that much further into the whole.

"Not a chance, dino boy," Becker said through clenched teeth, struggling to stop himself from being pulled in, both hands holding onto one of Connor's.

"Let go!" Connor tried again, as he saw that they were both about to fall in after him, but their stubbornness was unyielding. Abby held Connor's hand with one of her own and used the other to try and grip to ground beneath her, which only resulted in several claw marks in the cold dirt.

Suddenly the pull of the abyss grew in strength, catching them by surprise as they all succumbed to the power of the hole and suddenly felt themselves falling further and further into the darkness.

* * *

><p><strong>... so end of Chapter 1, chapter 2 will be the beginning of their adventures in wonderland. Sorry no Hatter or Alice 'til Chapter 3 xxx Let me know if alright, <strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This is set between ep 2 & 3 Season 3 of primeval and sticks with the Canon :) Also set during the events of the miniseries Alice.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>The darkness lasted for only a second as they fell, giving way to a sickening swirl of colours, mimicking the feeling of falling through a whirlwind or tornado. Abby felt as though she was being tossed around in a tumble dyer, her senses were all jumbled as she forgot how to breathe and even think in the crazed madness around her.<p>

And then, as soon as it came - it was gone. She landed on something soft and warm, something rather comfortable. A happy feeling wash over her as she remembered that she could now breathe again.

"Ow..." mumbled a voice from underneath her. Oops... She rolled off onto the cold floor and looked over at whom she'd fallen on.

"Thanks," Connor muttered as he sat up, holding his head with one hand as he tried to focus on their surroundings.

Abby suddenly realised, Becker!

"You both okay?" Abby breathed again as she turned around to see the captain getting up off the floor.

"Fine, just _really _dizzy," she explained, blinking to try and stop the world from spinning.

"Where the hell are we?" Becker looked around the dark room; holding his gun out, using the torchlight on the top of his gun to see his surroundings. They appeared to be in a great hall of some sorts. Large stone columns held up the high ceiling. Becker's torchlight was reflected upon the polished marble floors, showing the dust that had accumulated on the floor around them.

"Looks like some sort of abandoned palace..." Abby said in awe of the room around her. Her footsteps echoing through its vast dark halls as she walked around, leaving footprints on the dusty floors.

Connor gave a violent sneeze as the dust tickled his nose. Abby immediately turned to him and gave him a look. "What?" Connor protested, "I got allergies!"

Becker's torch moved around the room and touched on a plaque by the wall, glistening gold in the darkness.

"What's that?" Connor grabbed the top of Becker's gun and moved it back to the plaque. Abby walked over to read it, using the light from torch to guide her way.

"Connor..." Becker said in a low voice to the man by his side.

"Yea'?" he looked up to the soldier innocently.

"Never touch my gun." Connor immediately took his hand off the weapon and gave an apologetic smirk.

"Hey guys, listen to this, _'We here place this in commemoration of the doorway that brought our saviour, fair Alice of Legend, to our land',_ you know of any Alice's? Could help narrow down the time," she looked back at them, shielding her eyes from the harsh torchlight with her hand.

"That is if we did fall through an anomaly..." she added looking up to see if she could work out how they'd come to be in the great hall.

"We've been through anomalies before, they never felt like that," Connor thought aloud, walking over to the far end of the room.

"Well the radios aren't working and I can't get a signal on my phone," Becker informed them, shoving his mobile back into his top pocket.

"We let's have a little looksie where we are then," Connor muttered to himself as he was out of earshot of the others. Grabbing hold of the large brass door handles he forcefully pushed the doors open.

White-hot sunlight burst into the room, making Connor wince as its brightness. It took him a second for his eyes to adjust, but when they did, the beauty of what he saw overwhelmed him.

A garden like no other garden he'd ever seen before lay before him. The hedges were trimmed to perfection, laid out around, fencing in the small garden. Not a rock was out of place on the paths, and the flowers were all in bloom and seemed to be the most beautiful and colourful flowers he could think of. Even the water from the fountains seemed to drop in such a way that the sunlight hit it magically as it fell.

"Oh my God..." Abby appeared beside him, taking in the beauty of the garden.

"Nice find, Temple," Becker whistled, stepping out into the sunlight.

"It's almost unnatural..." Abby whispered, as she bent down to touch one of the flourishing flowers in a bed beside her. The texture of the petals was unlike any she knew. It was almost as if they had been painted each and every rose petal to be the flourishing red colour that it was. But that was stupid; no one in their right mind would ever do that...

Her fingers where not even an inch away from the petals when the sounds of a dozen guns being loaded, clicked around them.

"Hands in the air, you are surrounded," Abby looked up around her – hands raised. Men in black suits where scattered around the garden, weapons trained upon them. Where had they all come from?

Becker instinctively raised his gun, trying to aim it at the leader, but couldn't find a definite person; they all looked the same... Sighing, he put down the gun. It was no use. They were out numbered and completely surrounded. He and Connor shared a look. Connor wasn't sure what to do but he decided that the simplest approach was often the best.

"Look sorry, we didn't know this was your garden, how 'bout if we apologize and we'll chalk this up to a big ol' misunderstandin', yeah?" Connor tried, looking around at the armed men in a panic.

"Look who we have here boys!" One of the men chuckled, stepping forward. The other men around them began to laugh as well, which was a little unnerving. Abby realised that they all wore numbers on their suits. The man who was walking towards them had a spade on his jacket and a number 8 on his right shoulder. Were they some sort of gang?

Number 8 swaggered his way over to Connor, making the palaeontologist slightly nervous at the man's close proximity.

"Hello Hatter, the Queen's gonna be happy to see you again!" Number 8 sneered.

Conner was frozen in shock, the Queen, _the _Queen? The Queen knew who he was? How did Queen Elizabeth know who he was? Did it have something to do with the ARC? ... Hold on, 'Hatter'? Was that some nickname people were calling him behind his back? Well that's rude... he liked his hats. Abby liked his hats. Did he wear hats too often just because Abby liked them? Hmm, maybe he should stop wearing hats for a while...

"The Queen?" Abby snorted, not even attempting to hold back her laughter. Why would the Queen want to see Connor? It was ridiculous.

"Nighty night," A grin spread across 8's face, that Connor immediately decided he didn't like.

"What – " A swift flashed of black was all Connor saw as 8 smashed the hilt of his weapon against Conner's head, dropping him like a fly.

"CONNOR!" Abby screamed, but was held back by one the suited men, who'd walked up behind her whilst they'd been talking.

Becker brought up his gun back up to aim at number 8, but was met with several guns on him in an instant.

"Drop it," 8 said icily, eying the gun in Becker's hands.

With a burning glare and a tight jaw he dropped the weapon on the ground. It landed with a hollow crash right by Connor's unconscious body.

Two suits took Becker's arms immediately, making him see the futility of protesting. Abby was still struggling in her captor's grip in vain.

Number 8 pushed Connor's shoulder with his foot, rolling him over to be lying on his back.

"Don't touch him," Abby growled protectively, her eyes giving the man a fiery glare as if she were trying to murder him with her eyes.

8 just smiled cruelly and pulled Connor up by his collar, his head lolled forward. A trickle of blood ran from his temple to his chin. 8 practically threw the unconscious man at two other suits.

"Don't let him wake up 'till we get to the palace, you've all heard what he can do," 8 barked the orders and then turned to leave.

Becker and Abby shared a confused look. They thought Connor was dangerous? Seriously? Sure, Connor was considered dangerous with a tranq gun and, as they'd unfortunately figure out at the water park, a real gun, but that was only due to his stupidity!

-

They were taken through to the end of the garden and led towards the strangest of buildings they'd ever seen. It was like a giant house of cards, piling up towards the heavens. Abby tilted her head back to try and see the top but it was impossible and only made her dizzy.

Connor was still unconscious and was being half dragged, half carried through the corridors of the building. This made Abby worry with thousands of questions running through her head... How long was it okay for someone to be unconscious? Would they be able to get a doctor to look at him? Why had they taken such an interest in him? She knew the answer couldn't be good... These looked like dangerous people, people that were not to be messed with. But so were she and Becker... The precise moment she could, she would get her revenge against the men who hurt her friend.

The further they went into the building, the more Abby seemed to notice a theme... diamonds, hearts, spade and clubs... it was like the whole place was a deck of cards! The building gave a very sterilized feeling with white walls, floors and ceilings. But still looked to be an office building of a large corporation.

Number 8 led their way, pausing in front of a large red door at the end of one of the corridors. Two suited men stood either side of the door, acting as guards.

"State your business," the man on the left drawled, slightly bored.

"I bring the Queen a gift," 8 answered slimily, grabbing a fist full of Connor's hair and pulling his head up.

The guards stood in awe. "You found Hatter?" The guard on the right whispered.

"March will be happy," the guard on the left noted.

"Leave him alone," Abby spat, struggling once more in the vice grip of one of the suits.

"Is that the Alice of Legend?" the guard on the right cocked his head to the side, as if not impressed.

8 scoffed in response, "the Queen already has the girl," he told the guard in a belittling manner.

"Oh yeah, 'course, come on through," the two guards stepped to the side and pulled the large red doors open.

Once more Becker, Abby and Connor were pushed through into another room, this one, however, was not like any of the others in the building. A line of plush red carpet lined its way through the centre towards a great red chair and the end on the room.

Upon the chair sat a rather large woman, sporting an unamused expression. A blonde couple stood beside her, immaculately dressed, their faces like emotionless masks, hiding what they truly felt.

"Your highest of Majesties," 8 grovelled snivelling towards the woman perched on the throne.

Abby stood next to Becker, keeping a watchful eye on Connor next to her. He was beginning to come back to the world of the living. Abby mentally cursed, this was probably not the best time for him to wake up.

"8, darling, what have you brought me this time," the woman smiled warmly, like a loving mother. However there was also a sinister look in her eyes that Abby wasn't too keen on.

"I found the traitor, Hatter, with these two by the old Rabbit Hole," 8 informed the Queen. Her face turned sour with the very mention of the Rabbit Hole.

"Bring him here," she barked.

Connor blinked as he looked around at his surroundings. What the hell...? His head burned in sharp pain. He looked to his right to see Abby and Becker held tightly by suited men, what was going on?

"Connor?" Abby looked at him with sad eyes.

But he didn't have a chance to talk to her and he was shoved forward and was suddenly standing in front of a very angry middle-aged woman.

Confusion set in fast, why was everyone so angry with him? Who the hell were these people? Where were they?

"Hatter," the Queen spat in disgust, "you insolent little cockroach!"

Connor looked around wondering who she was taking to. Man, that guy was in trou-ble...

"Look at your Queen when she's talking to you!" She bellowed, as realisation set in... She was talking to _him_?

"You helped the girl, Hatter," the blonde man beside her set forward, "that is treason."

"What? Hatter? Who the hell is Hatter?" Connor raised his eyebrows, turning to Abby and Becker, but they looked as confused as him. Why did people keep calling him Hatter? He'd never agreed to be given a nickname and if he did he certainly would never agree to 'Hatter'...

"Stop playing games boy, you've lost, the girl is in custody, once we find the ring, peace will be restored to Wonderland."

"Woah, woah, woah, hold the phone," Connor spoke up, "Wonderland? Seriously?" a laugh escaped his lips. These people were bonkers!

Abby looked at Becker, they were in Wonderland? But that wasn't a real place... was it?

"Like Alice in Wonderland? The kid's book?" Connor was looking back at Becker and Abby, had he hit his head harder than he thought?

"Stop questioning me! It is us that will be question you!" The Queen shrilled. She stepped forward eying him angrily.

"Where's the ring Hatter?" The Queen said icily.

Connor frowned; these people just didn't give up! "I don't know!" He paused, wait was this a dream? "Actually you know what? It's probably in Mordor, most likely with Frodo," he sighed, if they were going to ask him stupid questions, he'd give them stupid answers.

"Connor..." Becker warned him, this was not the time to be flying off the handle. These people most definitely had the upper hand in this situation and baiting them wasn't going to get them anywhere.

"Who is this _Frodo_?" The Queen inquired slowly, but the yellowy blonde man stepped in.

"He is a fictional character from the Oyster World," he then turned to Connor, and gave him a questioning look.

"I've had enough of this! Take him to the Truth Room!" The Queen waved them away, but a man dressed in black with what looked like a club on his head, spoke up.

"Majesty, the doctors already have a patient," he spoke wisely, making the Queen tense with a growing anger; she really hated not getting her way.

"I don't care!" She shrieked, making all those who knew of her reputation quiver with fear.

"As you like ma'am," number 8 bowed, grabbing Connor's arms, pulling him out of the Throne Room.

Fear strike to the pit of Abby's stomach. "Where are you taking him?" She cried out. "Let him go!"

"Get them out of my sight," The Queen sighed, she'd had enough of this nonsense, all she wanted now was to get her ring and restore the balance to her kingdom.

"Connor!" Abby yelled as the suits led her and Becker in the opposite direction.

"We'll get him out, Abby," Becker promised.

* * *

><p><strong>Let me know if you like it, and i'll post some more soon :) xxx <strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Hatter and Alice's entrance :) So I do mess with the Alice plot a little... **

* * *

><p>Number 8 was anything but gentle as he led Connor up to the Doctor's play-house. Connor didn't like the sound of going to see a couple of Doctors. But he was more worried about where Abby and Becker had been taken. This was definitely not the Wonderland his mum had read to him about before bed...<p>

The suit pushed him through a door into what looked like a room. It just looked like any ordinary waiting room, with hard chairs and even a few magazines in a rack, though he didn't recognise any of the titles. A rather boring painting of a single sailboat hung on the beige walls and there was a bookcase at the far end.

With a hard shove from number 8, Connor fell back into one of the chairs, slightly stunned by his surroundings. 8 walked off to a cupboard on the other side of the room.

Looking around in a panic, he tried to figure out a way of escaping, but realised the door they'd just walked through had miraculously disappeared... what had moments ago been a large wooden door, now was a plain door with a large green pot plant in front of it. What was going on?

"Here," 8 appeared before him, offering him a tiny cup. "Drink this."

Connor frowned, looking up at the suited man, why was he being so nice now? It didn't really make any sense.

"Uh..." Connor began to have flashbacks of the 'stranger danger' lectures his mum and his teachers had imbedded into him as a child...

"It'll help," 8 muttered, with an expression that was almost, well, friendly, almost...

"Thanks" he accepted the offer cautiously, he knew he really shouldn't be accepting things from the man who'd pistol-whipped him earlier, but he really was thirsty.

The man before him just shrugged and offered him a tiny cup of black swirling liquid. Connor took the cup and looked at the liquid, it was tea. A feeling of relief washed over him, grateful of the beverage.

"Do you have any milk?" Connor asked, but was met with a confused look. Connor shook his head and began to drink. It was cool going down his throat, almost as if it were made of ice. But it wasn't until it hit his stomach that Connor realised something was wrong.

"Poison?" he croaked, his whole body felt as if it were going numb except his heart. Fresh pain blossomed in his chest, making his eyes water and cry out, his hand going to his chest as if in attempted to sooth the pain.

8 smiled and shook his head, "Grief, with just a hint of guilt," he chuckled.

Connor was instantly confused, but it was subsided by the pain he felt inside. It was like something inside of his heart was missing but he didn't know what. What ever he had lost, he knew deep in his gut that it was his fault it was gone...

he'd done something...

hurt someone...

He didn't know. Why couldn't he remember? His vision began to blur as the guilt and grief consumed him, making it impossible for him to consider doing anything other than drown in his emotions. There was an aching whole in his heart, as if someone had torn it apart, taking away something that he loved so deeply. He didn't know what is was, though, all he knew was that he felt like his body was dying without it.

"Come, the doctors will see you know," 8 took his shoulder and opened the sliding doors behind him.

-

Alice stood balancing on the last remaining splinters of the plank, clutching the desk with all her might, trying desperately not to fall into the dark abyss below her. Her hands trembled as she grasped the feathered quill in her hand. Doctors Dee and Dum leered over her, watching through the window. All hope was useless now; she just needed to tell them where it was so that see could get out of here.

Suddenly the door in front of her opened and there stood. "Hatter!" She cried with joy, but her joy was only temporary as she saw the state he was in. Held tightly by the suit beside him, fresh blood dripping down the side of his head. However it was the utter despair in his eyes that shocked her very being. Hatter, for the time she'd known him, had been a mysterious, quirky guy that never let anyone see what he was really feeling.

"Get out, this is a private session!" Dee and Dum yelled at the intruders.

"Sorry Gents," 8 smirked, "I got a new one for you!" he pulled Hatter towards him.

Alice could see that Hatter needed her right now. He must've been caught trying to rescue her. Dammit, this was all her fault. Why did he have to try and be a hero?

Forgetting the chaos around her she leapt onto the desk, wobbling slightly to keep her balance. 'Don't look down', she urged herself, knowing that if she did, she would loose her nerve. She did need more time here to convince the Queen of a deal, but she knew that so far her efforts had been in vain...

She didn't know how long they'd had Hatter for, but whatever they'd done to him had seem to break him so completely that he'd lost everything that made him who he was; the cocky, arrogant, ever so slightly mad Hatter. She needed to get him away from all this, he needed her now. Hatter had risked his neck by coming after her, the least she could do was return the favour... she did owe him...

"What are you doing?" The Doctors bellowed, watching as their patient jumped up, grasping the chandelier with both hands and swung towards the door. Feet first she knocked the suit to the floor and held onto Hatter tightly to stop herself from falling back into the room. A second jab with her fist, knocked 8 out, leaving him unconscious on the floor.

"C'mon Hatter we need to leave," she took his hand and looked around the room. But there weren't any doors! How they get in then?

"I'm not a Hatter!" she heard him mumble defiantly beside her. "I've never made a hat in my life," there was tears rolling down his cheeks at this point.

"What did they do to you?" She wondered aloud, as she searched the room for the exit, wait... she reached out and pushed on part of the wall, amazed as it moved outwards, revealing a corridor in the Heart's Casino. She needed to get Hatter out of here, fast. Tugging him along with her hand gripping his tightly, they ran out of the Doctor's waiting room.

"Come on," she urged him; they needed to leave. Now...

-

Hatter was growing annoyed at his rescue accomplice. 'Shelia' a.k.a Larry had not known anything about the whereabouts of fair Alice and they were no closer too rescuing her.

"LET ME GO!" a voice yelled through the corridors, attracting the Hatter's attentions.

"C'mon Charlie," he called to the White Knight who was wandering around trying to communicated with the 'beyond'.

Hatter rounded the corner to see two Oysters, he presumed due to their clothes, being dragged away by suits, the blonde girl was fighting hard against them, however her efforts were in vain.

Hatter smirked; these suits would know where Alice was. Silently, he ran up to behind them, and let out a loud whistle.

A suit turned around and was instantly met with a sledgehammer of a fist right between his eyes.

"Connor...?" The blonde breathed out is shock.

But the Hatter ignored her, taking down the suit that was holding onto the blonde.

A new fury was unleashed as Abby swang a roundhouse kick to her kidnappers, freeing Becker who took the opportunity to deliver a punch to the last suit, dropping him in an instant.

"Oi, I wanted to talk to them!" Hatter cried out, fixing his hat.

"Ah, all rats and damnation, I have arrived at the battle too late!" Charlie gasped, feigning disappointment, earning an annoyed look from Hatter.

Becker was shocked into silence at the appearance of Connor and the armour-clad old man. What the hell? Where the hell had Temple learnt to fight like that?

"Are you okay?" Abby ran up to him, why had he changed his clothes? What the hell was he wearing? Wait, was that _eyeliner_?

"Look, did they mention anything about an Alice?" he brushed her off, he didn't have time for crazy oysters...

"Alice?" Abby froze and looked over at the man she'd thought was her best friend. Looking closely at the man in front of her, it suddenly hit her...

"You're not Connor..." She realised. Sure it had been hard to see at first but now it was obvious, even by the way he stood there in front of her. His hair was slightly longer than Connor's, curling up around the brim of his hat. He stood a little tall than Connor did, as if more confident and sure of himself, which Abby didn't doubt, Connor was quite a self conscious person, especially around her. However it was the look in this man's eyes that instantly told her that he was not her best friend. Where Connor's deep chocolate eyes reminded her of a happy little Labrador puppy, eager for praise and affection, this man's eyes reveal a darker soul within, hard with anger and determination, it was a look she'd never seen, nor wished to see, in Connor's eyes.

"No-pe" he smiled, popping the 'p' cheekily.

"What?" Becker felt uneasy around Connor's apparent twin, wishing more than ever that he had his gun in his arms. He felt, almost naked without it.

The Conner look-a-like, suddenly pushed them all against the wall and put a finger to his lips. Abby was about to cry out in a protest against being manhandled but stopped as she heard footsteps running along the corridor. A group of suits ran past the corridor

"Quick! Alice and the Hatter are heading towards the roof!" One yelled, leading the other up a flight of stairs.

"Alice..." he breath was lost at the mention of her name. "Hold on, I'm here..." He stopped, looking from Abby to Becker. He blinked and paused for a moment, before shaking his head, "Not the time," he uttered, changing his mind. "On my count, run to the elevator," he ordered, his jaw tight with determination.

"Now!" He yelled rushing forward across the large room, slamming his fists into two suits that were waiting on the elevator to return.

"You didn't even count!" Becker cried out angrily, rushing forward towards the elevator. 

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading :) Review and Let me know if you liked it and i'll add the other chapters :) <strong> xxx


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4, hope you like it :) **

Don't own anything :)

* * *

><p>Alice held tightly onto the emotionally distraught man as the elevator doors closed. Knowing that there was nowhere else to go, she clicked the roof button and waited as the lift sprung to life.<p>

"Hatter, are you okay? Where's Charlie?" She whispered, watching the tears fall from his bloodshot eyes.

"Who? What?" his voice cracked, making him sound like a little boy. "God, I'm never drinking tea again..."

Alice's heart skipped a beat, "What kind of tea did you drink?" Maybe that was the reason he was acting this way.

"Dunno... I think he said it was called grief and guilt... tasted awful!" he muttered, trying to move past the pain in his chest, that was making him feel so drained and worthless.

"Oh Hatter..." she held him closer, forgetting about her own pain that Jack had caused her, they could deal with that once they were out of here and the tea had worn off.

The doors opened to a vast rooftop area, only protected by a few guards.

"Oi, you there!" One yelled, rushing towards them.

"Okay, Hatter, I know you're hurting right now, but its just tea, okay, what you're feeling isn't real okay, just push through it, I need you!" Alice looked directly into his eyes; she needed Hatter to help her now.

"O-okay," he nodded vaguely, stepping out of the lift.

"I'll take that one, you take the other!" Alice directed him, running forward to take one the suit.

"W-what?" He called back, swallowing deeply as he stood face to face with a suit, turning back to be met with a hard fist to his cheek.

He tried to call out but Alice was busy using her learned dojo positions to take down the suit, flicking her outstretched hand into the suit's side at lightening speed, throwing the man back with the force, knocking him out with a sharp kick. She glanced over to see how the Hatter was fairing... not so good... He was on his back, shielding himself from the angry blows of the suit.

With a sigh, Alice ran over to help the fallen man.

XXX

The ride in the elevator was, to put it plainly, awkward.

"Hatter," Connor's doppelganger introduced himself, with a slight tip of his hat, as if feeling the need to fill the silence.

"Abby," She muttered back, avoiding the Hatter's gaze, this was all getting just a little too weird for her to handle at the moment.

"_Captain_ Becker," Becker dropped in title with a warning glance at the strange men in front of them.

"Ahh, a fellow brother in arms!" Charlie gasped in happy appraise.

Hatter just snorted a laugh in reply, earning a glare from Becker.

"Sir Charles Eustace Fotheringay La Malvoy III, White Knight, personal guardian of Justalice and surveyor of the occult!" The armoured man offered regally, gulping a breath at the conclusion of his spiel as he'd tried to finish without stopping for air. He gave a low bow. However he was met with blank looks and wide eyes from both Becker and Abby.

"... also know as Charlie," Hatter offered his face deadpanned.

Abby starred blankly at the Hatter. This was just too weird. Connor had a twin. In... Wonderland? Maybe it was all a dream? She subtly pinched herself; hopefully she'd wake up in her apartment with Connor making pancakes... Ow, damn it.

"That's not gonna work," Hatter pointed out, snapping Abby from her thoughts. "You're not dreamin'," he added with a bemused smirk, "Sorry!"

Though Abby was fairly certain he wasn't in the least bit sorry...

A ding from the elevator behind them sent a shiver up Alice's spine, with the elevator would inevitably come more suits. They didn't have a chance to defeat them, especially not with Hatter in this state...

However the occupants of the lift, were not who she had expected.  
>"Charlie," a grinned spread across her lips as she ran to greet the White Knight, who took her in his arms warmly.<p>

"Justalice, you're alright!"

Hatter stepped out of the elevator and beamed at her.

Alice knitted her eyebrows in confusion as she looked at the Hatter she recognised back to the other Hatter who was puffing out of breath not but five metres from her.

"Wait, if you're Hatter, then – "

"CONNOR!" A short blonde woman burst out of the lift, pushing past them to get to her friend.

X

Abby ran with all the speed she could muster with Becker close behind. She knelt down next to her flat mate and best friend.

"Connor..." she smiled, helping him up. "You alright?" her voice was soft as she gave him a once over with her eyes. He didn't seem to be any worse for wear, well any more so than she had when they'd been separated. However the was a far away look in his red eyes... like he didn't even realise she was there...

"You guys shouldn't of come," Alice told them, "you could get yourselves killed!"

"Alice," Hatter began to speak, "did you give up the ring?" he didn't want to sound callous but he needed to know. The ring was their only form of leverage and possibly the only way for the resistance to gain the upper hand in this war.

"Look, I have things under control," she told him forcefully. She didn't know what it was, but something about the Hatter made her feel like a child being spoken down to by a parent.

"You tried to cut a deal with the Queen, didn't cha?"

"I was getting close,"

"Gettin' close?" His voice went higher, "maybe I'm wrong, but negotiations didn't _appear_ to be going so well!"

"Well, I need more time!" She insisted, their conversation had quicken in pace as both of them got fired up.

"For what? You really think the Queen is just gonna... _send_ you and your boyfriend home?" 'Was she really that naïve?' Hatter thought to himself.

"No," Alice blurted out honestly.

"No, of course not!"

"No, because he's her son..." she let the bomb drop between them.

Hatter paused – What? Had he just heard that correctly?

"The prince?" He looked at her, she was joking right? "Jack Heart?" Alice looked up at him guiltily. "Jack Heart is _your_ _boyfriend?"_

Alice didn't know what to say, she was already heartbroken as it was. She'd been played, tricked and now she was all alone in this crazy messed up world.

Hatter cursed colourfully in his head. Of course her boyfriend was a prince! That was just his luck, wasn't it?

"Do you lot _really _think this is the time for your little lovers' tiff!" Becker yelled over at them, fed up with the two strangers squawking at the top of their lungs whilst they had bigger issues at hand - such as escaping off this bloody rooftop before the men in suits found them!

Hatter sent a glare at the soldier, clearly not appreciative of his sentiments. He froze as something out the corner of his eye suddenly caught his attention.

"One sec," A dark look traced across his face as he saw one of the suits getting back up. Just what he felt like...

With renewed determination he stormed over to the suit, cornering his prey. With one punch, the Hatter had the man doubled over. The suit got a lucky jab into the Hatter's ribs, knocking off his tan hat. Stunned from the blow to his side the suit saw an opportunity and suddenly grasped Hatter's throat and pushed him against the concrete ledge. With fire in his eyes, Hatter sent a forceful punch into the suits side. Feeling this choke hold around this throat loosen, the Hatter took the suit's head and whacked it against the ledge. A trickled of blood in the corner of his mouth was quickly brushed away by the back of his hand. He picked up his fallen hat and turned back around to the suit. It was time to end this...

He threw the hat up into his outstretched hand, distracting the suit for the briefest of moments before, CRACK; his sledgehammer knocked the suit to the ground.

Alice was a little shocked at the Hatter's violent outburst, she knew he was angry at her, but the display of rage she'd just witness was a touch frightening... however deep down she knew it was necessary, the suit would've done the same, if given the opportunity.

"What now?" She asked as the Hatter walked back towards them. She could tell he wasn't happy.

Hatter looked around and a ghost of a smile danced over his features when he saw the three pink flamingos-like machines. How very fortunate.

"We get on one of those," He pointed, as he rushed over to the flying contraptions.

X

Abby was getting more and more worried about Connor, physically he hadn't seemed to be hurt that much, other than the knock to the head, but emotionally he seemed to be overwhelmingly distraught. He hadn't said anything other than her name all whilst the others had been talking.

"What happened to him?" Abby asked the brunette woman who was currently over by the weird metal flamingos. The woman had been with Connor before... surely she must know something.

"No time," Hatter yelled back, pulling Abby up, with Connor in tow, and pushing them towards what looked like flamingo vespas.

"Get on," Hatter ordered Alice who was eying the contraption suspiciously.

Abby glared at the Hatter, furious that he seemed to be completely ignoring that Connor was hurt.

"C'mon, Abby, we need to get out of here," Becker told her quietly, helping her and Connor onto the pink machines.

"How do we know we can trust them," Abby whispered, looking at the others cautiously. Everything she'd learnt about these strange people gave her no reason for her to trust them. The Hatter seemed like a cocky self-preserving a-hole, who was more than happy to crack a few skulls to get his own way. The brunette woman, who looked a little more normal than the others was a complete stranger to her, Abby didn't even know her name and anything more about her than she was friends with Hatter and the Knight and that she had a strange green tattoo on her arm, what that meant, Abby didn't know... And then there was the Knight – 'Charlie', probably the friendliest of the group but equally the most odd, there was no way Abby was going to put her faith and trust into a man that kept insisting he could communicate with the 'beyond'...

"We don't," Becker told her gravely, interrupting her calculative thoughts. He walked cautiously, over to the mentally disturbed knight who was admiring the machine. Becker's hand wavered to his side, wanting to grab his standard issue side arm which he carried with him at all times. He mentally cursed as his hand was not met with the cold metal handle, but thin air – the suits had taken his weapons back in the garden. Sighing he turned his attention back to the crazy old coot who was nearly in ecstasy over a piece of pink mental junk...

"Articulated birds of the Imperian!" The white Knight exclaimed, utterly in awe of the pink mechanism.

Becker frowned, 'great' he thought with a large amount of sarcasm. There were only enough room for two to a flamingo and he was stuck with the crazy knight... Not that he was going to let Abby or Connor to get on these contraptions with the untrustworthy old man.

" What genius!" The knight smiled at Becker, who looked at him as if he'd suddenly grown several heads.

X

"These things fly?" Alice looked at the flamingo.

"We don't have time, Alice, just get on!" Hatter urged.

Alice looked over the side of the building. The sudden vertigo on the height constricted her with fear. "I am not getting on that!" She blurted out.

"You don't have another choice!" Hatter retorted, taking the front seat on the bird.

Alice's fear mixed with anger, "No, you don't understand. I'm not getting on that!"

"It's perfectly safe!" Hatter tried to reason but then thought about it, "safe-ish" he added.

Suddenly they could hear the ramble of the suits arriving. They needed to leave now!

"I have a thing about flying!" Alice told him, why couldn't he understand that!

The sound of bullets flying past them and the threat of the approaching suits, made Hatter antsy.

"Yeah, well I have a thing about bullets!" He retorted.

"Brave soldier, hold on, whilst I begin this contraption!" Charlie told his passenger as he searched vaguely around the flamingo head.

Becker tightened his jaw; he was not very fond of being shot at either.

Abby searched frantically, trying to find out how to start it. She and Connor sat at the closest flamingo to the oncoming army of suits. "I'm sorry," Connor whispered in her ear, his head resting on her shoulder.

"We're gonna be okay," she encourage him, praying that she was right.

"Look I'll do the flyin', all you have to do is hold on!" Hatter explained as Alice looked around to see how close the suits were. She really didn't want to get on the unreliable looking device.

"Look at me," Hatter's voice was suddenly soothing, she was suddenly draw into his dark chocolate gaze, "I wouldn't let you do it if I didn't think you'd be okay."

There was something in Hatter's words and the way he looked at her that suddenly made Alice realise that she was safe with him. Nodding quickly she jumped on the back of the flamingo.

"Hmmm, how do you get it to fly...?" Charlie wondered aloofly, making Becker growl, this old man was getting on his nerves. Seeing a large red button on the back of the flamingo's head, Becker took a stab in the dark and slammed his palm against it.

The flamingo burst into life, flying out off the roof terrace before they even realised they were moving.

"Like that I 'spose," Hatter blinked, watching to two men fly off towards the forest.

Abby braced herself, "Hold tight Connor," she whispered under her breath, pressing the large red button as she'd watched Becker do moments before. She was flying full speed before she even realised she'd hit the button. With the wind violently stinging her face as she tightly gripped the neck of the flamingo vespa.

"That's. Fast!" Alice commented, her stomach plummeting.

"Oh yeah, Hold on!" Hatter shrugged, pressing the button. They didn't really have any other option, now did they?

Speeding off just in time as the suits halted on the roof terrace, bullets just missing them as they flew. They were free, now they just needed to stay alive!

Abby could free Connor grip tighten around her waist, his head on her shoulder. Steering the infernal contraption wasn't complicated but it was still annoying to have to figure it out whilst hundreds of metres in the air with the constant threat of falling to their deaths. However she was thankful that they were now over a large body of water and away from the trees, falling into a forest had a tad messier outcome.

Damn it, she just wanted to be safe and warm in their flat, sharing a cup of tea with Connor and Rex on their couch. It was blisteringly cold in the high altitude and the winds were starting to bite at her cheeks.

"Hold on Connor," she whispered again, it had sort of become a chant for her.

Through the deafening winds she could just hear the brunette woman, Alice, yelling at the Hatter, telling him to 'Shut up and Drive!'

X

Becker clenched his teeth as he gripped the handles on the side of the flamingo tightly. The deranged knight was in front of him, shouting out some nonsense about being 'angels in the wind', whatever he was saying Becker was doing his best to ignore this man's insanity. God, if they ever made it back to reality he swore he would never call Cutter an eccentric lunatic now that he'd actually met a real lunatic!

The sound of a bullet whizzing past alerted all their attentions to the suits on flying flamingos behind them.

"ACES!" Hatter yelled over the howling winds and the motors of the flamingos.

They tried hard to dodge the bullets, but they suddenly came upon the unfortunate realisation that flamingos were a lot harder to steer into making short sharp turns. Apparently they had been designed with the approach to make calm, leisurely turns. A trait the Hatter found most irritating as he pulled the steering neck aggressively to the right; narrowly dodge the Ace's bullet.

With an ominous jolt and a clunk, Becker suddenly realised that they'd been hit. Thick black smoke escape from the motor as it started to splutter and they began losing altitude.

"We're going down!" Charlie cried out, clinging to the flamingo with all his might, as did Becker.

Cries of "Charlie!" and "Becker!" were exclaimed as the two fell with a crash into the blue waters below.

Abby's heart leapt violently in her chest as she felt the flamingo jolt – they'd been hit!

The vehicle beneath her gave a sick chug as it dropped violently for a second before catching itself. Abby felt slightly nauseated at the sudden drop and the escaping fumes around her.

Thick black smoke was willowing around her and for once she was comforted by the fact that Connor wasn't conscious enough to understand what was happening around them.

She could feel herself let out a scream as they began to plummet down through the wind.

Letting go of the flamingo's neck, she threw her arms around Connor and used her legs to kick off away from the machine – if they landed in the water with the flamingo the force may knock her out and she wasn't certain if Connor was conscious enough to swim to shore. If she was knocked unconscious they both were most likely to drown...

Without another moment's thought she and Connor crashed violently into the cold dark waters below them. The force sent a wave over their heads, covering them instantly under a heavy wash of dark water.

* * *

><p><strong>Review and let me know if i should keep going :) xxx <strong>


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 :) Hope you like it xx  
>Don't own anything!<p>

* * *

><p>Abby coughed and spluttered as she waded through the knee-deep water in the direction on the shore. She grabbed Connor's elbow to help him stand up, he was coughing still as well, sporting a red nose and cheeks from the freezing temperatures. They were both soaked to the skin from their unplanned swan dive in the freezing waters. Connor still hadn't really said anything, his eyes displaying the same haunted far away look that he'd had on the roof. She gripped him tightly, afraid of what may happen if she let go. They needed to find out how they could reverse what ever those men in suits had done to him.<p>

Up ahead on the shore, she could see Alice and Hatter arguing fiercely on the shore... dammit, she _really_ didn't want to interrupt their little 'domestic', but they were walking the opposite direction along the shore. She didn't want her, Becker and Connor to be lost in this crazy world! ... Speaking of Becker... she gazed around the wide open landscape, hoping to see some glimpse of the tall soldier - nothing... Damn it.

But she hadn't giving up hope just yet. She knew Becker could take care of himself, and then some... He was a trained military operative, as he so delightfully kept informing them.

"Come on, Connor," She cooed soothingly, taking his hand, lacing her fingers with his, and running towards the angry couple on the shore, tugging Connor along with her.

XX

"Why's he even going around pretending to be someone else?" Abby could hear the anger in Hatter's voice as she drew closer to them. She wasn't sure what they who they were talking about but it was making them both very tense.

Alice seemed furious; she was storming off ahead, with the Hatter following close behind.

"Well, he's hiding from them," Alice tried to reason. Why did Hatter always have to push her? Couldn't he tell that she didn't want to talk about this?

"Why," Hatter pressed.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Alice roared.

Hatter was taken back by her sudden outburst. He didn't know what to say, or if he should even say anything. Alice was mad, no wait, beyond mad, furious. And sad, he could see that she was obviously upset about something. He didn't want that, he'd _never_ wanted that. He just wanted her to see that Jack was just using her for his own purposes; he didn't want the prince to hurt her anymore than he'd already done.

"He's engaged," she told him, hating the way it tasted in her mouth. She could feel the jealousy rising within her. "To a Duchess," her mind wandered to the perfect blonde woman she'd met in the casino. The Duchess was so regal and faultless, what if that's whom Jack really wanted? But then why'd he give her the ring?

"So he's two-timing yer?" Hatter offered.

Yes, Alice said in her head, no, dammit she didn't know. "I don't think it's like that," she said aloud, 'I hope its not like that...' she added in her head.

"And now all of a sudden, he tells you that your father has been in the casino all this time? Does that not seem a lil' bit fishy to you?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's not a coincidence – "

"Oi, you lot!" Abby stormed up to them, tugging Connor by his hand. She'd finally be able to catch up with them once the two had stopped walking.

"God, what do you want?" Hatter groaned, why did people always feel the need to interrupt people when they were having a conversation?

"I don't care who you are or how important you think you are, but my _friend_ is hurt and it's because of you people!" Abby said in an accusing tone, letting all of her frustration and anger out on the man in front of her.

"Hatter, they gave him tea," Alice offered, feeling sorry for the man who at this moment resembled a lost little boy. "Grief and guilt," she added, remembering Connor's words in the lift.

"Should wear off in a few hours," Hatter shrugged coldly, his doppelganger was not his main concern at this present moment.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Abby inquired angrily. "What did they do to him?"

"Hatter, we can't leave him like this, it's cruel!" Alice argued, the poor boy had been suffering this whole time with the overwhelming pain and guilt of losing something that wasn't actually real. It was barbaric!

"Bloody Hearts," he cursed under his breath, shoving his hand into his pocket, fiddling around for several moments before producing a small corked vial.

Alice's expression darkened, "you brought tea?" After everything they'd been through, Hatter was carrying around the vile tonics that had caused it all?

"_Emergencies_," he muttered his explanation and walked over to his twin. "Never know when you need to grease someone's wallet," he added thoughtfully, with a nod to Alice.

She frowned, wondering if that was the right phrase he was looking for but understood of what he'd been referring to. Hatter had only days before traded her for a bottle of victory. She rolled her eyes and decided to let this go. She was tired from the day and their recent spat.

Uncorking the bottle, he took another look at his doppelganger; it was actually eerily disturbing how similar they looked. Of course the man before him, didn't share his love of hats but rather, gloves and scarfs... hmm maybe he should get a scarf... Blinking, he shook the random thoughts from his mind. He couldn't let this weird phenomenon mess with his head...

"You know, I don't see the resemblance," he smirked, "I mean for one thing, his hair is awful! He should wear a hat..."

Abby sent him a glare that literally gave the Hatter chills, "Just sayin'," he added, realising that he possibly shouldn't mess with this oyster, he'd seen the way she'd attack those suits in the corridor. Were all oyster women like Alice and Abby? God help the men in the oyster world!

Unceremoniously, Hatter took the bottle and uncorked it, his lip twitched faintly as his eyes clouded with thought. Abby starred in silence, not sure what he was going to do. With one swift motion, Hatter put one hand on Connor's chin and shoved the vial into his mouth, forcing the distraught man to drink its contents.

"Get off him!" Abby roared at once, pushing the Hatter away, but it did little in actually moving him. He raised his eyebrow slightly and watched the man before him come back to reality.

Connor had been uttering numb up until that point. He'd barely acknowledged Abby and Becker on the roof, closing himself off from everyone, as the raw emotional pain had been too much to deal with. It was confusing as he didn't know why he was feeling this way, only that it overwhelmed all of his other emotions and feelings. He'd barely noticed being on the flamingos and falling into the lake, not even knowing that he was soaked through and shivering. Someone had pulled him out of the water and along the shore, but he didn't even care.

It was all his fault...

Wasn't it?

_They were gone_...

Who were gone?

He looked out into the distance, people were talking but he couldn't hear them. Their voices were muffled - muted. Suddenly someone grabbed his head and forced a vial into his mouth, without warning. His immediate reaction was that he was being poisoned again as he struggled to get free, but this time it tasted different. It was... _good_. Warm. He let the liquid run down his throat as it melted the numbness of his whole body. Washing away the pain in his chest. His vision starred to clear. He was on beach... He smiled, he felt normal again, happy.

That was until he realised who was standing in front of him.

"ARRRGH" Connor yelled jumping away from... _himself_? What the hell was going on here?

"Connor, calm down!" Abby was there! He followed her voice with his head and saw his best friend and the love of his life standing next to him, holding his hand.

"What's going on?" Connor looked from Abby to the two strange people with them. "Where are we?"

"I thought the tea was meant to make him happy?" the brunette woman muttered his doppelganger in the hat.

"No-pe, just cancels out the other one, he's now feeling everything like normal..."

It was weird; they even sounded the same...

Abby was actually smiling at Connor's confused expression. She was just happy to see in not in pain any more.

"Connor, it's fine," Abby patted his shoulder, making Connor look straight into her sea-blue eyes. "This is Hatter and Alice." She nodded over at them.

Connor's gazed followed as his mind started to catch up. He'd been in a kind of grief-induced trance since drinking the tea. But now things were becoming clear.

"Oh, and I'm Abby," She offered to Alice, realising that they actually hadn't introduced themselves.

Alice offered a warm smile, she was happy to know that there were other 'oysters' in Wonderland who, like her, were not imprisoned by the Queen in the Casino.

"Hatter?" Connor looked over at his twin, who gave a begrudged wave. "That's what that 'Queen' called me..."

"Yeah, lil' mix up... _apparently_ they thought you were me, weird huh?" Hatter shrugged; flipping his tan hat, absently, with his fingers.

"This is weird..." Connor breathed out. Hatter looked just like him... Maybe he had an evil twin? Or maybe it was a clone! Or an evil robot. Maybe they'd fallen into an alternate reality... Was he a hologram?

Giving in to a random little impulse, he stretched out his hand with the intention to poke his twin's cheek.

Hatter immediately slapping the hand away out of instinct, sporting a disturbed look on his face.

"What ya doing?" his voice rose a little higher than normal, making Abby laugh at how similar they were.

Connor took his hand back, realising it was a little weird and then looked back at Abby. "He looks like me!" His eyes were wide.

"Yeah, but we _are_ in Wonderland," she offered, pulling off a small piece of water greenery that Connor had somehow failed to notice in his hair.

"Yeah, 'bout that –"

"Heeeeeey Nonny Nonny, the wind and the rain!" Charlie's echoed over the sand dunes.

"You hear that?" Alice smiled, good news seemed to be hard to find these days, but she was ever grateful for it.

"I don't believe it," Hatter had to hand it to the mentally deranged knight, he had skills!

"Seriously, do you _ever_ stop singing?" Becker yelled out in frustration.

"Becker!" Both Abby and Connor smiled at each other.

All ecstatic at hearing their lost comrades, they rushed over through the sand dunes and shrubs to where Charlie had made a fire.

"Charlie!" Alice exclaimed, running over to the white knight who was now just in his white long johns. The rest of his armour was held up on sticks around the fire.

"Becker!" Abby and Connor ran up to their friend who's expression changed from a look of annoyance to a happy one when he saw them.

"Thank Mylnids!" Charlie got up from the stump he'd been using as a chair and hugged Alice warmly, "I was just about to go back in the water and look for you again!"

"You guys alright?" Becker asked hugging Abby, but when he turned to Connor, the two men stopped short, unsure if it was part of their 'bro-code' to hug. Opting for an awkward pat on the shoulder, Becker gave him a reassuring smile and Connor send back a nod.

"We're alright," Abby assured him.

"Yup, that's good Charlie," Alice muttered, extracting herself from the knight's tight embrace.

"Ah yes, good," Charlie muttered releasing his hold of the young woman.

"How'd you get to shore with all that armour on?" Hatter wondered aloud, how that old man accomplished _anything_ was well beyond his grasp.

"I'm a knight!" Charlie retorted, as if that explained everything.

"Meaning, I pulled him a mile through the water to shore and _then_ had to make a fire so he could dry his bloody clothes," Becker muttered to Abby and Connor who laughed.

Becker was glad to see Connor was fine and back to his usual self. Not that he'd ever admit it to the young palaeontologist, but he'd been actually frightened for Connor up on that rooftop. Even though Becker had not been part of the ARC team for very long and was brought in at a very emotional time for the team, he'd actually started to feel more and more, lately, that he was truly a part of this team. And being a part meant fiercely protecting all its members. However seeing Connor in that state before had made him realise that there were some things he couldn't protect them from with his military training...

"We should get off this beach before we get spotted," Hatter announced, putting his hat back on. They'd already lost enough time. The Aces could be anywhere by now.

"No," Alice said simply, making the Hatter stop and turn around to face her.

"No?" Hatter said through his teeth. Did they really have to argue about _every_. _Little_. _Thing_?

Alice had had enough, "look I'm really grateful for what you did, coming to get me out of the casino, but I need to go back."

"Are you mad?" Connor blurted out before he could stop himself. Abby elbowed him in the ribs making him wince. She gave him a look that said 'stay out of it'.

This obviously had nothing to do with them. They just needed to stay with the people who'd help them out of that awful place until they could find their way back to 21st Century England.

"Why are you still hooked on Jack?" Hatter paced back to where Alice was standing, ignoring Connor's comment.

"I told you, he was trying to help me,"

"Really? Cause it sounds like he was using ya!"

Abby sighed, really? All these two seemed to do was yell and argue at each other. She was getting sick of it.

Becker and Connor shared a look; it was really awkward being in the same area as two people going at each other verbally. A glance over to Charlie told them that he was thinking the very same thing...

"And you're not?" Alice retorted, making the tension very thick around them.

Abby could see the hurt in Hatter's eyes. God, how could Alice be that blind? It was obvious in the looks the Hatter gave her that he felt for her. Unfortunately for the Hatter, it seemed that Alice's heart lay elsewhere.

"Don't you care what 'appening here?" Hatter argued. "All the people's lives that are gettin' ripped apart by the Queen – "

"Yes, of course I do, I'm one of them!"

"Then give the resistance a chance-"

Connor's ears pricked up at the word 'resistance'. "Like Star Wars?" he looked up at Becker, grinning like a child. "Shot gun Han Solo!"

"Think that's role's been filled," Becker nodded towards the Hatter.

"Dammit..." Connor whined, "I'm not R2-D2, no matter what Cutter says..." he pointing his finger at Becker. "I'm at least Luke Skywalker."

"You're not Luke," Becker chuckled at the thought. If anyone was Luke it was totally gonna be _him_.

"What, I – "

"Shhh," Abby shushed them, wanting to hear what Hatter and Alice were talking about. Alice seemed to be against talking to any of the resistance members. But Hatter was insisting.

"If we get to the top man, he'll help us!" Hatter tried to persuade her.

"You know him?"

"Yes!" Hatter replied quickly"...No, not exactly, nobody knows his true identity, but he's goes by a code name, Caterpillar..."

Connor burst out laughing at the name, making everyone turn around and glare at him. "Seriously, _Caterpillar_, what kinda code name is that?"

Becker shrugged casually, "Yours is worse." Connor stopped laughing immediately, his eyes wide.

"I've got a code name?" He starred blankly at the soldier. "What is it?"

"It's for me to know and for you to find out," Becker replied smugly, rather chuffed that he had the upper hand.

"Look," Hatter turned back to Alice, annoyed at the interruption, "give me a few hours, I'll slip back into the city and I'll make contact, you can stick with this lot, head back to the fortress, you'll be safe there."

Charlie stood up and began collecting his effects from the around the fire.

"If I'm not back by nightfall, do it your way."

"Fine," Alice agreed.

* * *

><p><strong>TBC... (if you want me to!)<strong>

**Let me know what you think! Or if you have anything you want me to add :) xxx **


End file.
